Last wrestling match you watched.

[Guest Canned Heat]

Watched Bret/Austin WM13 last night, classic match

 

On Austin's DVD, he has an alternate commentary on that Match with he and Jim Ross. Makes it 3x as cool to hear Austin talk about how they just went in with a blank slate and worked the crowd like puppeteers. And if you're a Hart mark, he makes Hart seem like a wrestling genius.

[Guest Canned Heat]

I actually found the "wrestling" part to be the best part. I was really getting into it at that point, and I was on my way to really digging it, but once they stopped rolling it didnt really go anywhere interesting, so it ended up another disappointment for me.

 

I thought it was really cool the first 2 times they went to the mat. But after 2 standing ovations, it got a little overplayed for me.

 

Also, I don't think it was a great match by any standard, but it fit well with the greatest PPV of all time, and that is saying something.

[Guest ADC]

Barry Windham vs. The Great Muta for the NWA World Heavyweight championship, a WCW match from 1993. It was a great, old school, paced clinic. You lot might not have the patience for it, but lots of great wrestling, with Flair on commentary.

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Its not that I dont have the patience for a slow pace, but actually I dont have much patience for Windham or Muta.

[Guest ADC]

Oh right, why's that?

 

I'd probably put Windham in that underachievers category, perhaps came a long a few years too late, and left too early, for that matter. Muta is generally considered a super-worker from what I gather.

[Guest Frank Botch]

The funny thing about that Angle/Benoit match is Angle getting blown the f*ck up after the wrestling/grappling while it looked like Benoit was still able to go another few minutes.

 

I love the third Chamber, its my favourite one and I have no problem calling it great, and much more too. That whole angle was an absolute blast and all 7 guys worked their asses off.

 

I'm still a little perplexed at the dead period but it is easily the best I've seen while rewatching these, got through the next two yesterday. From memory the one with the Rey/Edge finish was my favourite so I'm wondering if it'll stay at number one when I get to it.

 

Four was okay, not great. Cena was stiff as hell and was wiping people out all over which was cool. Angle suplex spot was good and worked well but he negated it by throwing on dramaless, is that a word, ankle locks all over the place. HBK just bled. Not a lot of cool bumps or anything, the main thing was the Carlito/Masters deal, the mega powers I think they called themselves, it was alright.

 

The ECW one was a disaster obviously, but Punk and RVD did some cool stuff. It turned surreally comical as a bleeding 500 pound dude stumbled around and got destroyed by a jacked up nimrod to the overall dissatisfaction of everyone in the building. 4.24 stars clearly.

 

3>2>1>4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ECW.

[Guest Ciaran The King]

I must rewatch some of the chamber matches I just can't remember them. The one that does stay in the memory is Summerslam 2003, Goldbergs finest hour as a WWE star Edited September 29, 2012 by Ciaran The King

[Guest Michael 378]

I just watched Kurt angle vs. Samoan Joe at lockdown in 2008.

 

Pretty great match, but Joe winning the belt then didn't matter. It was too late and no one cared anymore.

And Kurt Angle looked sad. His body almost skin and bones really. On another note his Goldberg like entrance was great along with his MMA gear.

[Guest Ciaran The King]

Plus Joe's career nosedived after the title win

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Oh right, why's that?

 

I'd probably put Windham in that underachievers category, perhaps came a long a few years too late, and left too early, for that matter. Muta is generally considered a super-worker from what I gather.

 

Windham is just a guy I dont really get. Apart from the Flair matches he never did anything to impress me in the 80s project. I dont understand the hype.

 

I've seen a few of Muta's US matches and thought they sucked, frankly. In Japan its a different story I imagine but I havent seen much of it.

 

So the thought of them wrestling a long boring match does not excite me.

 

I'm still a little perplexed at the dead period but it is easily the best I've seen while rewatching these, got through the next two yesterday. From memory the one with the Rey/Edge finish was my favourite so I'm wondering if it'll stay at number one when I get to it.

 

If you mean the 2009 Edge/Rey finish, yeah that is a great one. Personally I think the recreation in the Smackdown '11 Chamber was better and a better match. Smackdown '11 is my second favourite Chamber.

[Guest Ciaran The King]

Was that the chamber in which Edge ko'd Kofi beforehand?

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Yeah, 2009 was Edge losing the SD one and replacing Kofi to win the Raw one.

[Guest ADC]

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk from the Great American Bash 1989 for the World Heavyweight championship. Decent match, not brilliant, could have been better, but a good brawl, none the less, ended a bit suddenly and I think a few minutes prematurely, for me. Could have had a better ending, but plenty of post match action. I'd have loved to have seen Funk win the belt for the second time, that'd have been huge, but oh well, it wasn't to be.

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Man, GAB was so awesome. I think the post match brawl was my favourite part of the entire thing.

[Guest ADC]

Yeah, it was fun, but to be honest I mainly watch wrestling for what happens from bell to bell, not before or after. I think those several minutes would have been better served as match time. Save the brawl for TV, perhaps.

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

See to me its all part of the same story - before, during, after. If something that happens beyond the bells is awesome and adds to a match, I'm not going to discount it or something. Wrestling is whatever we make of it, I think.

 

One of my favourite 80s matches, Midnights vs Fantastics, is on the list almost entirely for the pre-match tantrum. I dont think I could tell you a single thing about the bell to bell action of that match, and I'd have to think to even tell you who won. But Corny is so great that I think I've watched that match more times than any other 80s match and I absolutely love it.

 

Anyway, back to it...

 

Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle, Summerslam 2001

 

Yeah, this rocked.

 

It has its drawbacks, mainly the overkill of using a thousand Stunners and Germans and what not, but in this context its far more because its an Attitude Era main event, rather than because its a Kurt Angle match. And when watching Attitude Era main events you just kind of have to accept that about them.

 

And anyway in this context the overkill of moves totally worked to tell the story. Two badass mofos clashing and just refusing to die, refusing to give in. It probably helps that I'm not watching during the Invasion, but they did a great job selling the importance of Angle trying to bring the belt back to WWF, while Austin had just become maniacally obsessed with the title, having joined Vince and then the Alliance to keep it. Both guys NEEDED to win, and failure was not an option.

 

In particular, sympathetic babyface is such an odd role for Angle to be playing, but he played it well and Austin did a great job beating the utter sh*t out of him to get him there. Angle just refuses to lay down, he kicks out of EVERYTHING, an unbelievable amount of bombs, and keeps fighting and fighting, so eventually Austin realises that he cant beat the man fairly and BAM, starts beating the sh*t out of referees like he's Stan Hansen to get out of it. Steve Austin is Randy Orton. I never get tired of that finish.

 

I've seen a lot of people say "if only it had a clean finish", but whenever I see that complaint I just think how narrow minded it is. Not every match has to have a clean finish. The finish of this match was screwy up the wazoo, but it made perfect sense in the context of the match and of the angle. And I'm now sitting here desperate to see the rematch, so it did its job for me.

 

Anyway, yes, I found this really compelling and its definitely one of Angle's better singles matches.

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle, Unforgiven 2001

 

HOLY SH*T, this was even better.

 

Firstly, Jesus Christ do these guys just beat the sh*t out of each other. They worked soooo stiff, and I mean you expect that from Austin, but Angle was laying it in so hard as well. This was a war, and the brutality and intensity was unreal.

 

The story of this match was Angle's Revenge - getting payback for everything Austin had put him through - the ringpost and announce table shots in the first match, throwing him off the stage, piledriving him on the concrete. This time its Angle on the attack and Austin on the backfoot. Austin even hesitates to go for the Stunner after Angle has apparently countered the boot into the Ankle Lock so many times. Austin hesitates.

 

Great use of the concrete to get to the pivotal moment where Austin attacks Angle's neck relentlessly and finally, finally gets him up for a piledriver. But Angle KICKS OUT. This is his night, he's refusing to lose. They use each others' finishers and this works perfectly, foreshadowed by Angle using the Thesz Press and the stomps and reinforcing the idea that Angle is giving everything back to Austin that he got.

 

And then finally, after all this, Austin in desperation goes for the Stunner, Angle counters into the Ankle Lock just like he threatened to do, BAM, redemption. Hometown crowd erupts, family storms the ring, WWF locker room empties in triumph. Having gone into this match not knowing who had won, I felt all the way through like Angle HAD TO win and him losing here would make me go out and kill people. He HAD TO win. And he won. That was one of the most satisfying conclusions to a story I've seen, and I am barely even cognizant of the story.

 

I believe the hype, these matches rock.

[Guest Edgehead]

Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle, Unforgiven 2001

 

HOLY SH*T, this was even better.

 

Firstly, Jesus Christ do these guys just beat the sh*t out of each other. They worked soooo stiff, and I mean you expect that from Austin, but Angle was laying it in so hard as well. This was a war, and the brutality and intensity was unreal.

 

The story of this match was Angle's Revenge - getting payback for everything Austin had put him through - the ringpost and announce table shots in the first match, throwing him off the stage, piledriving him on the concrete. This time its Angle on the attack and Austin on the backfoot. Austin even hesitates to go for the Stunner after Angle has apparently countered the boot into the Ankle Lock so many times. Austin hesitates.

 

Great use of the concrete to get to the pivotal moment where Austin attacks Angle's neck relentlessly and finally, finally gets him up for a piledriver. But Angle KICKS OUT. This is his night, he's refusing to lose. They use each others' finishers and this works perfectly, foreshadowed by Angle using the Thesz Press and the stomps and reinforcing the idea that Angle is giving everything back to Austin that he got.

 

And then finally, after all this, Austin in desperation goes for the Stunner, Angle counters into the Ankle Lock just like he threatened to do, BAM, redemption. Hometown crowd erupts, family storms the ring, WWF locker room empties in triumph. Having gone into this match not knowing who had won, I felt all the way through like Angle HAD TO win and him losing here would make me go out and kill people. He HAD TO win. And he won. That was one of the most satisfying conclusions to a story I've seen, and I am barely even cognizant of the story.

 

I believe the hype, these matches rock.

 

Don't know how true it is but I heard that Angle wasn't supposed to win the belt then but because of 9/11 they had the american hero win it. Maybe thats why he dropped the belt back to Austin 2 weeks later

[Guest Ciaran The King]

I heard that one about WWE awarding him the belt because of 9/11

 

Must also comment about the 09 chamber match, Edge was so crazy back then. Made for an unforgettable match

Edited October 3, 2012 by Ciaran The King

[Guest Jimmy Redman]

Yeah, I had no memory of Angle having the belt around this time so I assumed Austin would retain through whatever means. But I'm glad they went with it, regardless of the motive, since it made for such a better finish to the story than Austin retaining would have.